Never Apart
by KnyteMare
Summary: Ziva/Abby song based drabbles. Varying ratings, genres, and situations; most, if not all, romance. Happy Valentine's Day.
1. Somewhere Out There

So, last night I was listening to what I will, for the time being, call my 'possible wedding songs if I ever can commit to someone long enough to get married' playlist, when I had this overwhelming impulse to write about everything that I don't currently have in life. Great, right? Well, yes... for you it is. Then it was only the decision about what couple to write about, and my mind just settled on Ziva and Abby, because as unlikely as it is, I think they compliment each other nicely.

This upcoming weekend is a long one, and originally I was gonna get started on it then, but I figured 'hell, I don't have that much homework tonight', and it is a holiday of romance, so why not? I mean, it's not like I got anything better to do, just chillin in my dorm room like all the other cool kids who do not have a love life. Whatever.

Anywho, updates will be irregular, because I have a hella busy work/school schedule (as well as two other woefully neglected stories), but there are currently somewhere near 30 songs to go through, so stay tuned! At this point, I think most, if not all, chapters will be independent drabbles, but that's not a bad thing, is it?

Time-line: start of season seven.

* * *

_You're falling back to me, a star that I can see, I know you're out there, somewhere out there._**  
Somewhere Out There - Our Lady Peace**

Abby stared at the picture on the computer screen. She wasn't quite sure when or where it was taken, but her eyes did not wander. It was such a candid shot, she never got over how incredibly different the Israeli looked.

She had been wearing a thin green sweater, a color that Abby had always secretly thought looked amazing with her tanned skin. Her hair was down in thick curls, not at all unusual for the Israeli, but the relaxed, peaceful smile that she wore was a far cry from her typical coy smirk.

That smile made her look youthful, Abby decided, conceding to the fact that Ziva was quite a bit younger than herself; she had been the baby of the team.

Her brown eyes were shining with such a look of happiness, no matter how often Abby studied the picture, it always threw her for a loop.

It had been more than four months since they had last seen each other. After all that had happened beforehand, the departure had been one of awkwardness and tension - a quick hug and halfhearted smile was all Abby had spared before sending the brunette off, confident that they would see each other again shortly.

But Ziva had not returned with everyone else, and Abby's heart had plummeted to the floor. She managed to hold herself together for a couple of weeks, until the news of the Damocles' destruction reached the NCIS headquarters.

To be more accurate, it was the news of who had been on board of the ship that sent her reeling. After hearing the news, she had retreated to her lab where she promptly had been physically ill, before breaking down into tears, and falling into her own personal bubble of regret and despair.

She had never told the Israeli how much their friendship had meant, how much she had meant. How just a few words, or a single smile of her's could keep Abby going better than ten Caf-Pows could ever. How each day she spent so much time at work, just to increase her chances of interacting with the Israeli, if even for a few moments.

With almost a crazed madness, Abby gathered everything she could on Ziva's last assignment, leaving nothing out. Then she had found it, the one thing that could lead them to who had been responsible for Ziva's death. With that information, Gibbs, McGee and Tony had left once again, off to avenge their former teammate.

As relieved as Abby was, armed with that knowledge, she worried for their health as well. She sat by her office phone constantly, waiting for that outside call that would let her know everything was right again. When it had come, she had jumped out of the seat, talking animatedly as per usual. With McGee's reassurance that the four of them were on their way home, Abby had let out a relieved sigh before it had sunk in.

Four. McGee's revelation that Ziva was alive and, though not well, with them, safe and secure, almost caused Abby to faint with disbelief. She sunk into the computer chair, not believing the field agent at first. Then her heart started to beat, and she had stayed up all night, suddenly too wired to do anything but pace in her lab, long after the rest of the place had gone home.

Not that it was an uncommon occurrence for her.

And there she was again, sitting at her desk, alternating between the imagine on her computer screen and the telephone on her desk, as if her gaze could cause it to ring. Her green eyes returned to the computer screen.

Ziva was coming home. She was alive, and she was coming home.

"I promise you Ziva," Abby started talking to the picture as if she were already there. "I promise you, I'll take care of you. Whatever you need, however long you need, I don't care, I'll be there. For anything. I don't even care if-"

The loud ringing cut her off, and in a flash Abby had picked up the phone and pressed call in one swift motion.

"McGee! What? You're here already? Where? Walking into the main lobby!"

Without considering the situation, Abby hung up the phone, before jumping from her chair and running as fast as possible with her three inch platform boots. Knowing that the elevator would soon be going down, if it already wasn't, she made a beeline straight for the stairs, climbing them up to the bullpen in record time. Ducky was already there, waiting.

His rock-like presence helped to placate some of her anxiety.

For what seemed like hours, Abby stared at the elevator, willing the metal doors to open. The ring of the lift's appearance finally rang throughout the large room, and Abby held her breath. She suppressed her disappointment of seeing Gibbs first, but when Ziva came into view, everything went out of her head.

Simply put, the Israeli looked awful. Gone was her usual golden tan. She was pale from lack of sun, which caused the visible bruises to stand out all the more. Her hair fell around her face in unwashed tangles, as she slowly followed their quiet leader. Her eyes were wary and tired, almost empty.

Abby's heart broke slightly at the picture, finally having an inkling of exactly what the Israeli could have experienced. Slower than Ziva's own pace, as if she were afraid of scaring the other away, Abby walked around Ducky, even as the claps broke out in the room. Hesitantly she raised her hand to cup the brunette's cheek, still in disbelief.

When Ziva did not pull away, Abby wrapped her arms around the smaller woman gently, a far cry from her usual death-grip-like hugs. She felt Ziva relax after a moment, her arms coming around Abby's lower back, just as hesitantly.

It seemed like entirely too short of a time when they pulled apart, but Abby silently escorted the brunette down to autopsy, where Ducky did a thorough medical examination before gently ushering the pair away. Abby was hesitant to leave Ziva alone, but she brought the younger woman to her office, promising that she would be back immediately. Her trip back to the bullpen took less than five minutes as she told Gibbs that Ziva would be with her.

He agreed.

Returning to find that the brunette had not moved even an inch from where Abby had left her, the dark haired girl pulled the smaller into another hug, just as gently as before.

"Come on," she said quietly, before leading Ziva out of NCIS and to her red hearse. Abby helped her into the passenger's seat, before leaving the Navy yard and navigating the streets to her surprisingly spacious two bedroom apartment. After picking out a change of clothes, she let Ziva shower as she made a light dinner of soup and cinnamon-chai tea that she knew the Israeli had always loved.

Silently Ziva consumed the light dinner, which Abby had some suspicions of it being the most food the Israeli had been allowed in a while. When Ziva had finished, Abby ushered her to the guest room, where the double bed was freshly made, covers already pulled back.

It concerned Abby, the brunette's lack of response, but the Goth ignored it as she tucked the other woman in, promising to be just a room away. But Abby could not sleep, her mind whirling at what the day had brought, concern for Ziva not allowing her rest. It was nearly one in the morning when rustling reached her ears. After a few minutes it had not got away, and Abby climbed out of her coffin, before checking on her house guest.

Ziva was quite obviously in the middle of a nightmare as she thrashed around, mumbling a mixture of English, and what Abby rightly guessed to be Arabic.

The forensic scientist froze at the sight, before hurrying across the room. She feel to her knees beside the bed, tentatively reaching out to touch Ziva's shoulder.

The Israeli shoved the hand away, voice raising slightly. Biting her lower lip, Abby tried again, this time touching her cheek like she had earlier.

Like magic, Ziva calmed quickly, though still mumbling in a different language. After a minute Abby pulled away, and several moments later, Ziva was restless again, shifting though she was still asleep.

Replacing her hand, Ziva calmed once more. Two more attempts yielded the same result. Almost reluctantly at how the Israeli could react to her presence, Abby crawled onto the bed, taking Ziva's hand in her own as she pulled the blankets that Ziva had kicked away over them both.

Eventually the muttering stopped completely, and Ziva breathed easily as Abby softly rubbed circles on the back of her hand, not releasing it from her light grip. The younger woman unconsciously huddled closer to the comforting presence, her head finding a place on Abby's shoulder. Abby switched hands, before wrapping her left arm loosely around Ziva, half hugging her.

Abby sat there for a while longer, staring up at the dark ceiling until her companion's soft breathing finally succeeded in luring her to sleep.


	2. Wonderful Tonight

So after a bit of pondering, I've realized that I will be fighting myself the whole way on these updates, because romance is totally out of my realm of genre. But hey, we all gotta grow in some ways, right? Secondly, if it was not obvious by the temporary title of my playlist, I'm imagining a lot of these drabbles will be fluffy or sappy or something that just makes you say 'awww' and melt on the inside a little bit. Maybe I'm giving myself too much prior credit, but just a heads up. Also, at this time I am not planning on very much smutty stuff, but the rating obviously makes it in the realm of possibility. On that note, I was charging my iPod and going through my music library, and realized that I had left some tracks off my playlist. It has been fixed, and now there are almost fifty songs to go through!

Time-line: no specific episode.

* * *

_And then I tell her, as I turn out the light, I say 'my darling, you are wonderful tonight'._**  
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton**_  
_

Ziva closed the desk drawer, glancing to make sure the computer was shut off as she tidied up her work area. As she waited for it to finally shut down, she ran a hand through her tangled, disheveled hair.

When she and McGee had gone to bring in the suspect, he had attempted to run, knocking McGee down before trying to get past her. Of course, he wasn't a match for her rather impressive credentials of physical combat skills, but he hadn't been a slough. He had even gotten a few blows himself before she had been able to take him down. Though nothing was broken, her ribs still ached, as she was sure they would for a few days yet.

It was well past midnight, and Ziva was all alone in the bullpen, having been finishing up her incident report, which she promptly put into a folder and laid on Gibbs' desk. Her fatigue was partially due to the typical mental stress a case provided, but combining it with the adrenaline rush and crash that tended to occur with a physical fight, she was ready for a solid night of rest.

The computer was quiet, and before she shut off the desk light, she caught her shadowed reflection in the monitor. There were several scratches on her cheek, not deep enough to draw blood, but still tender to the touch. It was where the wall had broken her fall. The tangles in her long hair were not very noticeable due to it's natural unruly nature, but it was nevertheless obvious that she had had a long day.

Her trip from the desk to her car was silent, and short - almost as short as it was for her driving to get her back to her apartment.

Unlocking the door, she entered quietly, slipping off her shoes and letting her coat drape over the arm of the couch. On the way to the bedroom, she worked on unarming herself, a feat which took longer than the brief journey. Almost silently she put her collection of weapons on the dark, roll top desk that acted more as a dresser than a desk. She pulled down the cover, hiding her arsenal from view, before finally turning to the rest of the room, which was illuminated by the dim light of a small bedside lamp.

Abby was sprawled on her back, arms out as she slept. Ziva admitted some surprise - not at the other woman's presence, but for the simple fact that Abby had actually left work before Ziva. If her current state was any sort of indication, she had been here for a while.

With a small smile, Ziva retreated to the walk in closet, changing into more appropriate sleep clothes, before going through her short, nightly hygiene routine. Ziva returned to the bedroom, noticing immediately that Abby had stirred.

The black haired woman was looking around the room in confusion, as if trying to determine what had awoken her. Seeing Ziva appear in the doorway, she smiled brightly, though tiredly.

"Hey!"

Considering who it was, the green eyed woman's voice was surprisingly quiet. Ziva returned the soft smile with an even softer 'hi', before crossing the room to the bed. She sat on the edge at first, simply studying her companion.

"Wow, he really did get you, huh?" Abby asked, having already heard the story. It was the first time since then that she had seen Ziva however. Her fingers lightly brushed the red marks on her cheek.

"He got lucky," Ziva assured her.

Abby smiled at her confident, self-assured tone, but didn't doubt the statement. He had indeed been extremely lucky; Ziva had killed for less.

Ziva caught the expression, and she squared herself to Abby, tilting her head slightly. "What?"

Abby shook her head, instead she leaned forward to cup the brunette's cheek before kissing her sweetly, heartbeat hammering in her ears at their proximity. It was several moments before they broke apart.

"Nothing. You just look amazing."

Ziva blinked at the seemingly random response, before chuckling lightly.

"Very flattering, Abby, but if I look anything how I feel, that is a lie."

Abby rolled her eyes playfully, before getting off the bed, pulling back the covers to slide under them. Ziva mimicked her actions, propping her head onto her fist as she faced her companion.

"Come on, Zi, we know I'm a horrible liar, so obviously you would know immediately if I _was _lying."

Abby missed the glint in the Israeli's eye, as she leaned over the green eyed woman to click off the light.

"That is true," she said, after a purposeful pause holding herself above Abby, who stifled her groan at the action.

"Yes," the forensics specialist said after a Ziva had moved again. "Exactly. So when I say you're amazing, it means you're amazing."

Abby felt Ziva's amusement before she heard it, once again.

"Goodnight Abigail."

She was one of the few who could get away with using her full name.

"Goodnight. And Ziva?"

"Yes?"

"You look amazing. Always."

* * *

I will be shooting for an update a week, maybe sometimes two, but I can't guarantee it. Stay tuned.


	3. Smile

Okay, so if it was not noticed, I pushed my update back to the weekend, because that is when I have my only bit of free time, so I won't be attempting to fight my class/work schedule so much. Anyway, by request of topic, here's drabble number 3!

Time-line: no particular episode or season referenced.

* * *

_Just the thought of you can drive me wild, oh you make me smile._  
**Smile - Uncle Kracker  
**

Abigail Sciuto was what one would generally call a workaholic. But unlike the rather typical excuses for her kind, she was not trying to escape some sort of inconvenient home life, or free-time social problem. No, it was for the simple fact that she loved her job and everything about it, to include most of her coworkers.

As long as she wasn't given an assistant, she would amend quickly. She really disliked those kind of colleges.

Sometimes she felt that she lived in her lab more than her apartment. She was the first employee in the building each morning, and almost always the last one out, even when there wasn't any case work to be done.

Of course, that was all circumstantial on if she actually went home, and didn't simply sleep on the ever present cot that she had set up in her office space.

Alas, Abby lived for her job. This morning found her typing furiously on the computer, eyes glued to the screen as she tried to crack through the different levels of firewall that the confiscated computer had. The sky had barely started to lighten, and she had already been in for an hour. Music played, quieter than usual, but set the mood just right. Because of the noise she failed to hear the near silent scuffle of feet. After a moment she did register the presence of another person. With a sharp intake of breath, she jumped, spinning on the perpetrator.

Ziva David met her gaze impassively, one eyebrow raising at the forensic's reaction.

"Ziva! Don't do that, God, you scared me half to death."

"I am sorry Abby. I did not mean to...scare you."

With a snort, Abby turned back to her task.

"Yeah, right," she replied skeptically, knowing the Israeli's inherent underhanded nature. The momentary indignation went away when a Caf-Pow was placed next to the keyboard. Eyes lighting, Abby immediately grabbed the drink, sipping it several times before returning it to where it had been.

"Okay, you're forgiven."

Ziva's customary smirk was the younger woman's only response as Abby turned back to her task.

"So why you so late?" she asked, absentmindedly. Ziva typically arrived to work promptly at 5 am, and with a quick check to one of the wall clocks in her lab, she noted that it was well past six.

"My run ran a bit long, yes?"

At Abby's nod of affirmation of the correct usage of the idiom, Ziva smirked once again at her success.

"Gibbs will be in soon," the black haired woman added, though not particularly interested.

The team was like clockwork, Ziva in first, followed by Gibbs at seven. Shortly there after Ducky would arrive, than it was either McGee or Palmer. Bringing up the rear, right at eight if not later, was Tony.

The set of events calmed Abby, and she stole a quick glance to her companion. She did not look tired for someone who undoubtedly had just run several miles, but that alone didn't surprise Abby. Ziva was well conditioned if nothing else.

Thankfully there indeed _were_ several other positive aspects of the Israeli's personality that, Abby was now embarrassed to admit, she had loathed in the beginning. A mischievous and, at times, crude sense of humor that undoubtedly had come from growing up in high competition with men in all social, physical, and mental aspects. Her mystification of American customs and language, particularly colloquial expressions. Her blunt and often untactful input on situations.

At first it had driven Abby mad, so mad that she never even realized at what point in time she started to find it endearing of the younger woman. When it came to her place at NCIS, the well trained, worldly, former Mossad operative was very similar to a young adult about the world, though Abby would never admit that fact out loud. For someone who had seen and experienced so much more than anyone could even realize, she still had some sense of naivety to her.

And now...now it made Abby smile. They really were quite similar she had admitted, once she had settled her contempt for the woman. They could spend entire days debating different guns and knives. With her scientific knowledge and Ziva's multitude of experiences, they couldn't sit through any sort of slasher movie without correcting discrepancies in each kill and, in Ziva's case, the process. Neither were afraid of competition, even when it seemed like things would get out of hand.

Unfortunately that particular one, however, had lead to a couple drunken nights of near incarceration, much to their mutual chagrin the morning after.

Yes. Ziva David had effectively molded herself into Abby's daily life. Morning visits before the offices got busy. Visits during slow periods of the day, oftentimes bearing gifts of snacks. For such an initial strong dislike, Abby was no longer sure where she would be without the Israeli's daily presence.

With another sideways glance, she spent a minute taking in Ziva's appearance again. She was staring at the computer screen, brows furrowed in concentration, as if she were trying to see the solution as easily as Abby was capable of. Grinning Abby turned back to the computer, typing away once again.

"Come on," she murmured after a minute. "Come on, almost there...almost...YES! We're in Ziva!"

The brunette was used to Abby's ways enough that she wasn't startled when the goth began to clap with excitement, jumping up and down. The hug that Ziva found herself in, however, caused her to tense for a moment before she returned it. She was still greatly confused by the ease that most women seemed to share in terms of public affection.

Abby grinned at the hesitant reaction, knowing that it was due to the strongly lopsided ratio of male-to-female interactions the Israeli had had while growing up. She pulled back after a moment, grinning brightly. Finally it seemed as though her enthusiasm was contagious, as Ziva slowly returned her grin. Abby contemplated her next move, but before she could decide Ziva excused herself to the bullpen. Abby watched her leave, and waited only a moment before it came to her.

She chased after the brunette, platform boots not hindering her speed.

"Wait, Ziva!"

The door had almost closed when the Israeli's hand slid into the gap, causing them to jerk to a stop before reopening.

"Yes Abby?"

The scientist stepped into the door's track, effectively stopping it from closing again.

"Hey, you want to grab some dinner after work? And a movie, there's this new one that came out last week, I heard it's pretty gory."

Ziva frowned at the question, and for a moment Abby was worried at what the response would be.

"How do people find gore to be pretty?"

Abby laughed at the question, Ziva's expression telling her that the Israeli was honestly puzzled.

"Never mind that. You in?"

The brunette blinked, before smirking.

"Of course Abby. It's a date."

Abby crushed a sliver of suspicion that Ziva was just testing the term, and instead brightened at the words, giving a firm nod of agreement.

"Yeah. A date. I'll meet you at your place then? About seven?"

"Seven it is," Ziva agreed, and Abby grinned once more, before backing out of the elevator. She waited until the doors closed entirely before slowly returning to her lab.

It was irrefutable that Abigail Sciuto loved her work. But maybe, she decided. Maybe there were somethings that were better than work.


	4. Because You Loved Me

So I'm toying with the idea of maybe a sister-story of drabbles based off of other songs on my iPod...but if I decide to do so, it won't be for a while yet, so who knows. Its just that I keep coming up on different songs that inspire me to write something. Anyhow, next week is class break! So I will actually have a bit of time to write, and I'm shooting to update everything. Or at least to try. Fingers crossed.

Time-line: later into the show, but no spoilers.

* * *

_For every dream you made come true, for all the love I found in you, I'll be forever thankful baby._**  
Because You Loved Me - Celine Dion**

Staring was rude. She had heard that many time since coming to America.

But did it really matter if the object of interest was unaware? she wondered, not for the first time questioning customs of the Western world. When she had been with Mossad, it never mattered how much someone would stare. Often times, it was even a good thing - chances were you would find what you were looking for, if you looked hard enough.

Here, however, she was not looking for any sort of answer, but simply to take in the view, illuminated by the soft moonlight that filtered around the curtains at the window.

Abby lay on her side, facing away from the Israeli, the thick blanket hooked around her elbow, leaving her wife-beater clad shoulder to face the cool air of the room. With her cheek resting on her hand, Ziva simply studied her lover, noting the slight differences in the energetic goth between awake and sleeping.

Her face was lax and content, instead of the mask of intense concentration that she often wore. She shifted slightly, mumbling something too quiet for the brunette to hear. That wasn't too uncommon; Abby was generally as restless in sleep as she was awake.

Smiling softly, Ziva trailed her fingers along the exposed part of the goths arm, her touches feather light. Abby stirred again, and after a moment, Ziva leaned forward, to wrap her arms around the other woman, placing a soft kiss on her slightly chilled, but smooth skin.

She received a breathless sigh.

"Ziva."

Abby's voice was hoarse, and thick with sleep, but Ziva didn't pay it mind. She hummed in acknowledgment, and Abby shifted herself so that she could see her companion. Due to the lack of light in the room, her eyes were darker than normal, and for a moment Abby let herself get lost, before she blinked.

The Israeli was neither aggressive nor insistent, but simply impassive as she returned the gaze, a spark of fire in her eyes.

She was very good at waiting. True to her nature, however, Abby was not one to procrastinate on acting, a fact that Ziva greatly appreciated as the dark haired woman leaned up to kiss her, twisting herself as best she could so that they were mostly facing. Ziva matched Abby's gentleness with her own, having shifted when the other woman did. Her left hand was resting at Abby's waist, thumb idly brushing back and forth against the bare skin she found there.

Moments later they pulled apart, and Abby gave the other woman a momentary look of puzzlement.

"What are you up to?" she murmured. Ziva gave a small smirk instead of answering, laying back down.

"Just thinking."

"You think in weird ways," the goth informed her.

A silence stretched between the two.

"What are you thinking about?" Abby finally added, and Ziva smiled at the curiosity.

"I do not know."

She heard the other woman scoff in the dark.

"Oh, I'm sure."

Ziva blinked at the dry tone that wasn't usual for the goth. Sarcasm, yes. Cynicism, sometimes. Scientifically, almost constantly. But not typically dry.

"I did not mean to wake you."

A breathless chuckle from beside her.

"Yeah, okay."

For a moment Ziva almost felt bad that she had woken the other woman up.

Then again.

"Fine. You want to know?"

"Yes, I want to know."

"I like this."

A moment of silence.

"This what?"

"All of it."

More silence, and Ziva glanced to the side, meeting Abby's darkened green eyes that were studying her intently.

"It is just...well, the life expectancy for a Mossad officer is not very long, I am sure you can imagine. And the chances of finding someone to spend that time with is just as impossible. Lifelong relationships and Mossad rarely coexist."

Abby propped her head up slightly, letting her companion ramble on, a habit that was highly unusual for the Israeli.

"So, I do not know. It is a very new experience - never in my life did I think that I would find someone who I both wanted, and was able to, spend my life with. I was not even sure I would make it this far in my life."

Another pause of silence.

"Where did all this come from?" Abby wondered aloud, curiosity once again winning out.

"I do not know," Ziva answered, honestly. "I cannot explain it, but it just feels right. I like that feeling."

It was the goths turn to stare, although both of them were aware of it this time.

"You're very strange, Ziva David," Abby informed her, lying back herself. She allowed a brief moment for contemplation before continuing. "But I like it."

Ziva's chuckles sent small vibrations across the mattress, and Abby smiled at the reaction. It was fate, she decided. Who on earth would wake up from a perfectly contented sleep, at two in the morning to have an offhanded, although serious, conversation about relationships?

No one but them. There was a quick movement on her right, and immediately, Ziva was holding her again, pressing a light kiss to the base of her neck. The affection caused Abby to smile.

"Ziva?"

"Yes, Abby?"

"I like it too. The feeling."

She felt more than saw Ziva's smile.

"Good night Abby."

Another pause of silence.

"You sure this time?" Abby asked, tone playful. "You're not gonna wake me up again right when I fall asleep, will you? Because I know I don't sleep a lot, but let me tell you, that doesn't mean I don't like it when I actually _do_ sleep."

Ziva's laugh was contagious, and it took several moments before they quieted again.

"You really would like to sleep Abby? Even though we do not have to work tomorrow?"

"What else would you suggest?"

Ziva's head tilted to look at her companion, the mischievous glint back in her eyes.

"I am sure we could think of something else to do first," she all but purred her answer, before kissing the woman's neck, as if to make a point. Abby drew an uneven breath as the implications hit her.

Really, sleep wasn't all that important, she decided. They did have tomorrow, after all.

* * *

Okay, honest opinion, do I write these, weird? Because I feel like each drabble turns out very different from the song that I listen to when I write it.


End file.
